Help us capture the brilliance of Breaking Bach for TV
You can play a vital role in preserving a groundbreaking performance that will inspire audiences worldwide by becoming an Executive Producer for Breaking Bach.
This project, two years in the making, unites the OAE with choreography from the Olivier award-winning Kim Brandstrup. Professional dances and student dancers from Acland Burghley School will visualise the pulsing rhythms of two of Bach’s masterpieces, Double Violin Concerto and Brandenburg Concerto No.3, performed by the OAE.
Breaking Bach will make its highly anticipated premiere at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on Wednesday 20 August 2025, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Our goal, in partnership with Marquee TV, is to produce a live TV recording of this extraordinary performance, ensuring its transformative power can be experienced by audiences worldwide. This film will showcase the OAE and the incredibly talented musicians, dancers, students and creative team who are bringing this project to life. To make this vision a reality, we need your support.
With a donation of £250, you can become an Executive Producer for Breaking Bach. Your contribution will directly fund the filming of this exceptional production, expanding its reach and impact far beyond the live stage.
Help us amplify the artistry of Breaking Bach and demonstrate the enduring power of classical music, reimagined for a global audience through film.
How we will thank you:
- Invitation to our Breaking Bach rehearsals at Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park
- Acknowledgement in the film credits as Executive Producer
- Invitation to our screening preview in a cinema in central London with the creatives, musicians and dancers
- And last but not least, your very own Limited Edition Executive Producer’s cap
Become an Executive Producer
Be part of something truly special. Breaking Bach, a groundbreaking fusion of contemporary dance and classical music, is coming to Edinburgh International Festival. Support us in capturing this highly anticipated project, and you'll help create a remarkable, innovative arts film for wider audiences.
From £250
In 2020 one of the first groups the OAE met when it moved into Acland Burghley School was the school’s talented and committed dance community. Shortly thereafter, we collaborated on an interpretation of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, with the OAE even becoming part of the students’ GCSE coursework!
In 2023, a conversation between the OAE’s Chief Executive, Crispin Woodhead, and choreographer Kim Brandstrup inspired the idea of co-creating a new dance piece that would explore the unique connection between the rhythms of Bach and the grooves of hip hop. This collaboration aimed to break down conventions by involving young dancers with street dance backgrounds, allowing them to take part as equal partners in the creative process.
During the summer of 2023, Kim and the dancers now joined by professional dancers Tommy Franzen and Deavion Brown developed an 18-minute piece set to Bach’s Double Violin Concerto.
In October 2023 this work was performed for an audience of peers, family, friends, and invited professionals from the arts sector at the English National Ballet
Throughout 2025, the dancers have continued to meet for auditions, rehearsals, and collaborative sessions with OAE musicians to bring the next phase of Breaking Bach to life as a full-length production. The creative team has also engaged local talent, including set designer Ellie Wintour, to create a captivating backdrop and costumes that will enhance the performance.
"The musicians of the OAE and I are facilitating this meeting of a group of street dancers and Bach. We are helping the dancers ‘break the code’ of some of the complex music - while encouraging the dancers to break any stylistic rule in the book in order to respond and enjoy the rhythmical power of Bach’s music."
Kim Brandstrup
Why is filming Breaking Bach so vital?
Because film is a powerful tool, especially when it comes to reframing and re-engaging with classical music:
- Films tell a story: By filming Breaking Bach, we can share Brandstrup’s amazing choreography and Bach’s timeless music in a way that truly resonates. People who might not go to a concert hall can experience the beauty of classical music in a comfortable, familiar way.
- It sparks conversations: Think about how you talk about a great film afterward. A film of Breaking Bach will do the same, sparking discussions about combining classical music and modern dance, and how young talent works with seasoned pros. It will encourage everyone to engage with Bach’s genius in a fresh way, helping new generations discover and love classical music.
- Showcasing talent: We give the wonderful students at Acland Burghley, talented dancers and the OAE an international platform to showcase these incredible individuals who bring this project to life. We also have a fantastic material to use to promote the Orchestra to support our efforts in bringing Breaking Bach to other venues around the UK and internationally.
- Replay, replay, replay: performances of the past couldn’t be recorded on film, but now you have the chance to watch this performance at the touch of a button.
Kim
Choreographer Kim Brandstrup is renowned for his award-winning work in ballet, opera, theatre and film.
Creating for world leading companies including The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Bregenz Festival and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Kim is recognised as one of the leading narrative choreographers of his generation.
He founded his own dance company, Arc, in 1985, forging a narrative style that owes more to his early cinematic training than to classical story ballet or to the kineticism of contemporary dance.
Throughout his career, and at times at odds with current trends, he has sought a theatre of movement that is both powerful and subtle, creating poignant and suggestive narratives that are always intensely human and emotionally revealing.
Since 2005 in freelance commissioned works for a range of international companies including The Royal Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the Royal Danish Ballet, his narrative approach has found new paths, growing more refined and precise while enjoying a looser, more experimental tone in its storytelling.
The Music
Bach’s orchestral and instrumental music is deeply rooted in the rhythms of dance. Despite their origins in baroque dance suites, the speed, intricacy, and seeming improvisational virtuosity of Bach’s compositions elevate them to something much more visceral and immediate. His orchestral works are far removed from courtly formalities, transcending the conventions of baroque.
This rhythmic endeavour forges a dialogue between the classical artistry of Bach and the electrifying physicality of contemporary street dance. The result is a vibrant, boundary-breaking encounter that reimagines Bach’s music for today.
Breaking Bach will include performances by the OAE of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 as well as other orchestral works and pieces for solo instruments.
Become an Executive Producer
Be part of something truly special. Breaking Bach, a groundbreaking fusion of contemporary dance and classical music, is coming to Edinburgh International Festival. Support us in capturing this highly anticipated project, and you'll help create a remarkable, innovative arts film for wider audiences.
From £250
